


Aheim Aheim

by WanderingRivers



Category: The Magicians (TV), The Magicians - Lev Grossman
Genre: Domestic, Domestic Fluff, F/F, Lullabies, Welters Challenge 2018
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-21
Updated: 2018-06-21
Packaged: 2019-05-26 07:09:19
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,540
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14995517
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WanderingRivers/pseuds/WanderingRivers
Summary: Julia finds a softer side of Kady and the gently healing power of songsFor the Welters Challenge of Music





	Aheim Aheim

**Author's Note:**

> The song Kady sings is call Aheim Aheim and you can find the lyrics here in both Yiddish and English: https://yiddishlyrics.wordpress.com/2010/12/27/aheim-aheim-%d7%90%d7%94%d7%99%d7%99%d7%9d-%d7%90%d7%94%d7%99%d7%99%d7%9d/

In the days and weeks after what Julia was internally calling “The Incident,” she found herself marveling at the odd domesticity that she and Kady had found themselves in. They had found a sort of comfort in one another, communicating in silent expressions and passed notes and books handed back and forth with relevant passages underlined, sometimes in triplicate. What truly amazed Julia though was how absolutely musical Kady was. She had first discovered this propensity when she came upon Kady making breakfast and she was humming something fast and bouncy and altogether too cheerful for how Julia was feeling at that exact moment but it was something that put a smile on Julia’s face in spite of herself; a configuration that was all too uncommon anymore in this new space of her life where things were divided in to Before and After. In the After, she rarely smiled and if she did, it was a grimace that showed her teeth and never reached her eyes.

But this, this was a side of Kady she absolutely didn’t expect. She expected surly. She expected lethargy after Kady got her fix. She even expected an odd sort of matronly concern that kept the takeout restaurants around the apartment coming to their door in a regular rotation since Julia was loathe to let Kady go out for groceries and thus leave her alone with thoughts that took a dark turn one too many times. But musical? Musical was not on the list of traits that she ever expected from the hedge witch who was helping her to find not only her place in this new unfamiliar world but a way to rid themselves of Reynard now and forever.

Not wanting to intrude, Julia backed out of the kitchen, retreating to the couch where an overflowing ashtray rested on the coffee table next to takeout containers that still held leftovers from last night’s Thai order. Fishing in the pile of butts, she found a likely one that still had a goodly bit left to be smoked and lit it with a motion of her fingers, inhaling the smoke deeply into her lungs. As she smoked, Julia tried to reconcile the smiling humming Kady with the gruff, rough and tumble Kady who flung battle magic like she was born with it running in her veins and failed miserably. It was an image that found itself so out of alignment with the Kady that Julia knew that she simply didn’t know what to do with it.

As if Kady had heard her ruminating, she came bustling into the room with a breakfast of eggs and bacon rummaged from the back of Julia’s fridge. “I know you aren’t hungry but you need to eat,” she said without ceremony. It was the same thing Kady told her every morning, making sure that Julia ate something even if it was reheated leftovers from the night prior. Holding out her hands, she took the proffered plate and fork automatically. Julia knew Kady was right but it still did little to stimulate her appetite. Eating mechanically, she decided not to broach the subject of Kady suddenly developing a musical side lest she somehow offend the one person who stood in support when everyone else had either died or left her abandoned.

It wasn’t until a few nights later when Julia woke screaming from a nightmare about that night with Reynard and found herself curled into a ball trying to find a dreamless sleep when she felt the bed creak and shift with Kady’s weight as she sat next to Julia, long fingers stroking her hair. Julia relaxed only marginally when she realized it was in fact Kady at her side and not the figment of her nightmares. With infinite care, Kady gathered Julia onto her lap, still stroking her hair, this time with a lullaby on her lips.

“Please, lend me your ear, so what I say you’ll hear, for your advantage does lie therein. I know you’ve suffered lately, and need assistance greatly.” The strange words slipped their way past Julia’s defenses and found their way to the small place inside her where she was still a little girl in dire need of comfort and love. “So let me prescribe your medicine. It is a most effective cure and the relief it brings is sure.  
Take it now because now the time’s on hand. It will help you in your anguish and will make your heartache vanish. All your pains and torments will be banned.”

Julia uncurled just a smidge as Kady kept singing, her voice a lilt that wove its own magic around the pair of them, creating a space of calm and warmth that worked despite the fears that chased themselves across her consciousness as her mind worked to separate the dream from the reality now at hand where shadows moved in strange shapes along the wall, transforming her familiar bedroom into one unfamiliar and frightening. She had no idea that Kady spoke anything else other than English but here she was singing to Julia in a language she didn’t know and trying to make sure she could find a place to fall back asleep where the nightmares couldn’t touch her. “This is not a jest. Do as I suggest.”

The bed moved and creaked under the pair of them as Kady moved from a sitting position to laying down, the big spoon to Julia’s little spoon. Her voice was like a purr against Julia’s back as Kady’s arms wound around her to hold her without entrapping her. Kady had learned early on that if she held on too tight, Julia would lash out and it had left Kady with a bloody nose and a load of sheets to wash to take the stains out. As the lullaby continued, Julia found herself drifting back off to a more restful sleep free of the nightmares at least for tonight.

Morning came and the bed held only Julia once again but this time, she felt a sense of almost lightness around her instead of the depression that dogged her steps. She wasn’t happy per say, but she wasn’t drowning in flashbacks or self-recrimination, at least for the moment. Moving quietly into the living room, she found a sense of order had returned of a sort to the apartment. Trash had been picked up, dishes were soaking in the sink and there was Kady, once again, humming a merry tune as she worked.

“Thanks,” Julia said simply. There wasn’t much else she could say or knew how to say. It wasn’t every day that someone you were rapidly calling friend and just maybe something more climbed into your bed and sang you back to sleep. “That song. Last night, can I ask what was that? I hadn’t heard anything like it before.” Her hands wound around a steaming mug that had been obviously left for her on her the counter.

“Oh? That? That was a lullaby my mom used to sing to me. She made sure I knew Yiddish and the songs passed down from parent to child since well, ever. I don’t observe anymore, at least on a regular basis but there’s still things I remember. Lullabies, blessings, curses, the occasional prayer. I hope I wasn’t intruding.” Kady finished cooking and added the pan to the dishes already soaking. “We’re almost out of breakfast foods. I can only scrounge so much out of your fridge. We’re eventually gonna have go to shopping,” she stated.

Julia looked down, contemplating the steam coming from the mug of hot coffee, the liquid a pale tan that was a testament to how much milk and sugar she actually took. “Oh. I didn’t realize that.” Frankly, Julia didn’t know if it was a response to Kady’s admission of being raised Jewish, the impending lack of breakfast food or both. An apology was on her lips when Kady waved it aside.

“It’s no big deal, really. Music is just kind of how I deal even if it is with a lullaby from when I was a little kid with skinned knees. Mom was a dancer and music was always around. I guess after everything we went through…” Her voice trailed off for a moment. “I figured music was a good way to try and bring back a little something good. Even if it was just a lullaby.”

“Oh.” Julia began to feel like a broken record, wishing she could say more than just monosyllables and the shortest sentences her brain could serve up.

“Look, you don’t have to apologize for my past anymore then you get to apologize for what Reynard did. The only thing you get to do is to drink your coffee, eat your breakfast, and promise not to let my soft side ruin my image, got it?” The light scold was softened by a smile that curved Kady’s lips and reached up to her eyes where the corners crinkled just slightly. “Now if you want, I can teach you while we research. I mean, if you want.”

For the first time in what seemed like weeks, Julia returned her smile with a genuine one of her own. “Yes, I’d like that very much.”


End file.
